Her feet sink into the warm and silky smooth ground beneath, a wave of heat wafts over her body and the salty air fills her lungs as she gasps. Blue meets blue before her, the open expanse of air and water seamlessly merging together on the far and cloudless horizon. Gulls caw out overhead and a very minimal surf laps at the shoreline several meters in-front of her. She lets go of his hand and goes to cover her mouth and face. This is perfection for her. There is no-one else here, the Sun is shining, the sand is soft as silk and the sea blue as sapphires. Ayeka is incredibly joyous and overcome by this addition to her first date. With a moisture brought on from mirth building up at the corner of her dark ruby eyes, she turns her head to look at her prince who has treated her to a trip to the beach. Her eyes convey the strong and tender feelings that she cannot voice as she continues to hide her mouth and cheeks for the womanly warmth and uncontrollably large smile now upon her face.
Since she has already let go of his hand, Vegeta steps forward before quickly vanishing and reappearing with items necessary for this location. As Ayeka watches him, still smiling like an idiot at him having brought her to her favourite place, Vegeta sets up a parasol, a small windbreak, places two towels down on the hot sands and drops a bag next to them. Only one of the towels fits under the shade of the parasol and he designates this as the Juraian princess' by reaching into the bag and putting a pure white swimming costume down on it, the exact same type as the one piece she wore last time. Ayeka takes a few small steps towards the towels, looking down at the swimsuit as she is about to broach the subject of whether she is going to need to change when Vegeta pulls his loosely buttoned up shirt over his head and discards it on his own towel. Colour enters her cheeks as her eyes slowly fall off of him and towards her one piece. He is changing before her eyes and he notices she is timidly glancing up at him every now and again with her blush growing in response. Having been wearing his swim shorts under his outfit Vegeta is done and changed very quickly. Ayeka's mind though is starting to wonder and fret about just the two of them being alone together on a beach in costumes she deems as very revealing.
" You can use the windbreak and the parasol, I'll fly over the sand dunes behind us for unfortunately there are no changing rooms out here for you to use. It is a small price I feel, this is one of the few beaches I know of and I doubt many others know of this place so we shall not be disturbed." Vegeta addresses and solves the issue of the lack of facilities he knows Ayeka to be worrying about. Privacy is not a concern at this beach, he has sensed about and there are no random hikers or backpackers to potentially shame his fiancée. Ayeka's eyes are still mostly averted from him. A topless Vegeta is not a rare sight yet it is driving home to her the intimacy of their actions, and this thought of having to strip out in the open is unnerving her.
" Why do you know of this marvellous beach when the public would not?" She changes the topic, sidestepping the issue for some small talk instead. Her question is innocent enough yet it causes Vegeta to look off to the side.
" We are far away from civilisation here and I found this place myself. I have spent an afternoon here meditating, I flew about this area for a while after Bulma died. No-one can disturb me here and … I was drawn to this place. If you were to fly up you would be able to spy the edge of a crater, one I made in vain against Buu."
Ayeka goes quiet. Her smiles falls as her mouth forms a small 'o'. That was not an answer she was expecting or ready for. Vegeta absently nods to himself as a hand creeps down and scratches at the back of his swim shorts. She does not know what to do with this, it discomforts her to think about one of his deaths and to think that she is so close to that place where he immolated himself and made the ultimate sacrifice. He normally isn't so open as to discuss what he did when grieving for his wife, that alone surprises her nearly as much as the topic of his death. It does make her happy however to know that he can open up to her like this, that she is a person he can confide in and that he trusts her.
"Is it alright for me to be here?" It seems like a private place for him, a place he went when mourning his wife, and so it does not seem unreasonable to her that he might want to keep it private. She wants to make sure he isn't forcing himself here due to her or that he is off put by her being here in a place important to him. Vegeta does not see it that way though.
"I claim no ownership to this land, this is the best beach I know."
"You died close to here, Lord Vegeta. … Last time we visited your wife's grave before the beach. Did I have to know this?"
"Yes. It might be unsavoury knowledge yet you like me telling you personal information, you find it comforting that I trust you to that degree. Send me a signal of ki or your barrier or something to alert me when you are ready." It is unfortunate that so far she can only associate the beach with graves, but his words ring true about her liking his honesty and openness. She blushes at being seen through and him having purposefully told her for that sole reason, and as Vegeta rises into the air her blush deepens as she is expected to start changing now. Butterflies infest her stomach and flutter about. Ayeka darts an arm out to get him to stop.
"Lord Vegeta, I -uh, not my barrier … it will be – I want it up." It embarrasses her to say this but she definitely does not want him to be flying back early and needs him to know this. Ayeka is not comfortable undressing here, he is giving her privacy and rudimentary means to cover herself but she wants the protective feeling of her shield. Half in her mind is the thought of asking him to take her to some establishment or even back to his house so she can change with peace of mind yet she doesn't have the heart to make him go even more out of his way for her than he is already. He nods at her in understanding and darts off out of sight. Her hand hovers in the air slightly. She wanted to tell him before he went that the shield is not due to a lack of trust in him. His speed does mean that if he wanted to he could easily peek on her without her noticing, yet the same is true of anywhere and so it is not a worry for her. Vegeta is already gone though and Ayeka stands alone on the beach.
She looks about her at the deserted sands and gentle waves, walks up under the parasol and picks up the white swimming costume. Her light and summery clothing she is wearing because of Vegeta's request will make it easier for her to get changed than her normal attire. Ayeka slips off her red cardigan and pauses, she scans the environment again and angles the parasol lower so that it and the windbreak cover most angles. With her protection from the sun's rays now protecting against an imaginary threat she can feel the heat on her bare arms and shoulders. A bright blue shield engulfs her, she picks up the towel for Vegeta, summons a few of her guardian logs and uses them to hold the towel around her. She takes her shoes off and unties the blue obi from her waist. For a few seconds she pauses and then her shield begins to shine all the brighter as she undresses. Ayeka acts as fast as she can and in a very efficient and hasty manner she gets her swimsuit on. Her shield dims but stays erect for she does not know if Vegeta will come if he senses its absence as she wants to check her appearance first. Pulling her twin tails free from the back of her swimsuit, adjusting it where it needs adjusting and checking herself over as best she can, Ayeka finally thinks she is ready though feels quite on display wearing this. Her arms and legs are showing and her midriff is revealed, the only time those parts of her skin are ever normally shown are when she is bathing, it makes her feel exposed especially after having undressed in the open. She sets Vegeta's towel and the parasol back in their proper places before she lowers her shield and then fires a small and very weak ki blast into the air as a signal flare.
A short flight later and Vegeta appears again, slowly descending so as not to kick up sand everywhere. He compliments her appearance to ease her nerves though fuelling her self consciousness as she blushes and thanks him. With a slight stutter to the beginning of her sentence she asks him about the sun cream they used last time, her mind remembering his strong hands touching and massaging her back the last time she wore this virgin white costume. Vegeta explains that it is not necessary, they won't be spending enough time here for her to be at any risk of burning her skin and that it will wash off easily. He extends a hand out to her. Ayeka looks at it and takes a step off the towel and feels the hot sand beneath her feet and in between her toes, she likes this novel feeling, and then she lightly takes Vegeta's hand as he begins leading her to the water.
"This might be a stupid question but you can swim, can't you?" Even though the powers of flight negate a need for swimming it negates the point of being in the sea. If she answers no he supposes the best thing he can do in the circumstances of a date would be to teach her though she will have to be a fast learner.
"Yes, I am a confident swimmer. I haven't swum in an ocean before though, is it different? Are there creatures out there?" Ayeka nods at him in answer to his query. She does enjoy swimming, back on Jurai she swam quite often in the palace's pools for fun and for fitness. However, having never been in open body of water such as this she isn't too sure how stuff such as currents and tides might affect things.
"There are, not many in the shallows and they won't bother people with any above average amount of ki."
Vegeta keeps on walking as Ayeka lets go of his hand. Her feet have entered the sea, a very cold water lapping at her ankles, cold enough to deter her for the moment along with other factors. She'll let herself gradually adjust to the water's temperature. With Vegeta not being tall and the sand bank here having a fairly steep incline he hasn't gone too far out before the blue water comes up to his waist. At this point he turns around and looks back at the princess slowly shuffling forwards. He doesn't understand the delay. She sees him watching her.
"When you said we aren't going to be here long, how long do we have?" Trying to make it seem like she is idling so they can converse, Ayeka asks him the only true thing she currently wants an answer to. She is very glad for this extension to their date together and so will not complain if she only has a short while here at the beach, Vegeta's time is precious to him and this is a selfish whim of hers that he did not have to indulge her in.
"Half an hour, you know my reason for ending early."
" … I do. Thank you, Lord Vegeta." She smiles at him and gets in up to her shins. Ayeka is truly very grateful for this wonderful day he has given her. He has treated her to a marvellous time at places she has loved and he has shown to her his more 'human' side. Being dressed like such and him wearing what surmounts to underwear she gets anxious at him hinting towards his mating season that he warned her of. He has to end his date early and she wants him to end it well before there is any potential threat to her. Half an hour is plenty of time for her with him at the beach. He accepts her thanks and turns to go deeper into the water.
Ayeka watches Vegeta stride out until it is just his head of prominent jet black hair sticking above the water and then that too is engulfed by the blue. Having reached a point where some of her thighs are now wet, Ayeka is starting to wish she had brought something along for her hair. The tips of her twin tails are spreading into thin pools of purple behind her and she knows that the salt water will not do her hair any good. She makes a plan that straight after the date she will take a bath to cleanse herself from this swim in the sea but for now her well cared for hair is going to have to endure the sea water. A small trail of bubbles weaves its way about for a minute before Vegeta breaches the surface of the water. Ayeka takes a moment as her heart flutters wildly. His perfectly toned musculature glistening in the bright sunlight as he raises himself out of the sea, water droplets tracing down his bare and scarred chest and his ebony hair slicked back down his shoulders and back. She wants to come to the beach a lot more now. Admiring the natural beauty of the coast, Ayeka finds herself distracted and thus does not notice a rogue wave. Vegeta notices it but cares not for it as it slams against him for no effect. He hears a brief scream from behind him.
Spluttering and coughing out the salty water from her mouth as she stands there completely drenched in the fairly shallow water, Ayeka complains to herself about how cold the water is. Her white swimsuit clings to her alabaster skin and her purple hair hangs heavy and flat around her face. She sees Vegeta looking her way and she wipes the water from her face feeling embarrassed. She did not intend on getting her hair or head wet so she now sets about sorting out her hairstyle. Undoing her twin tails she takes the bobbles used for that, slides back her fringe which was plastered to her forehead and proceeds first to tie both her bob and her much longer second layer of hair into a high ponytail and then she messes about loosely braiding it before tying up the tip. With her hair a lot more manageable now and out of the way, and feeling Vegeta's stern eyes upon her, she wades up to where he is. He comments that when he is a super Saiyan 3 he does find long hair to be quite troublesome and that without her fringe or her tiara he can finally see her full face unobstructed. Ayeka blushes at this.
"So, uh, what does one do when in the sea?" Now that Ayeka is out in the water next to Vegeta with just her shoulders above the waterline, she queries as to what they do now. He has planned everything else out and she has never been in the sea before and so assumes he knows what to do and will inform her as to their next activity. Vegeta in truth was counting on her just wanting to either swim or explore this new aquatic habitat. The list of things to be done in the ocean with two people that he knows of is fairly slim and because it is Ayeka here he has to narrow his search due to the physicality of some of those activities.
"Apart from swim? There are games my son plays with Goten, but they are competitive and I will not lose so there is no competition or challenge to be had in them. …"
"And what did you and your wife do whilst your son was playing?" After a small pause Ayeka asks this question out of nowhere. Vegeta is noticeably silent and still for a full second. She knows that his deceased wife is a sore topic, even more so with him being on a date with a woman that is not Bulma, yet he was the one who brought her death up first by saying how he found this beach and she believes that if he were to talk about her more it might help.
"You assume I was there and not training. There were a few occasions … to put it simply she enjoyed both my strength and my ability to fly, activities a bit too hands on for a princess."
They both fall silent for a while. Ayeka bringing up his late wife is serving as a bitter reminder for the Saiyan prince about how few happy memories he made with her whilst he had the chance. The princess feels awkward for broaching that subject and for him mentioning his intimacy with his wife. Though it might be something she wants in the future he is correct that anything that involves too much physical interaction she will find more discomfort in than pleasure and she feels that it would make Vegeta uncomfortable as well.
"We could talk, whilst we swim." With no other apparent options she can see, Ayeka weakly smiles at Vegeta in an attempt to break the awkward atmosphere. Talking and conversing with him casually sounds a good idea to her. Vegeta sees it as a satisfactory way to pass the time as well and nods in agreement. He waits for her to set off first and set the pace and Ayeka takes her first strokes swimming in the ocean. Easily keeping up with her, he asks her if the sea is what she expected it to be like, she answers that for the most part it is except she was expecting there to be more fish and such. She can feel the push of the water from the man beside her. Both are swimming breaststroke. Her smile warms, happy to be with him, happy to be in the sea and happy that he has made this day as special as it is.
"Lord Vegeta, it sounds weird to ask this now after all this time and such, but I have never asked when your birthday is. You know mine was immediately before I left Jurai but it never occurred to me when yours was." As both of them sedately bob along, Ayeka muses about this piece of information that has slipped her mind. To think that he is her fiancée and she doesn't even know when his birthday is really proves to highlight how short their time together has been so far, and how little opportunity she gets to just idly chat with him like she is now. Vegeta only cares for his birthday for what it entails, another year less to reach his goal, another year of fruitless training done and another year of age pushing him towards his own decline. Though close to being middle aged for a Saiyan and still maintaining much of his youth and fitness it has reached a point where Vegeta is quite aware of his age and that it is already a factor for his rivalry. An additional year in the hyperbolic time chamber, Goku's 1 year of death after Raditz, his 7 years in other world after Cell and all this added onto the 5 years seniority Vegeta already has is making him concerned about how long it will be until yet another insurmountable obstacle is placed between him and his rival.
"It is a hard thing to keep an accurate track of with my decades of space travel, differing calendars, year length and such, best estimate is it is early on in Earth's year, during the end of Winter. … Bulma assigned it a date, this was after I had lived with her for a few years and she was pregnant with Trunks, she was a cunning woman. If I had known about Earth celebrations I would have had it changed, the 14th day of the second month."
"So what is this celebration then that you share a day with?" Ayeka's curiosity has been perked now. She might not exactly grasp when his birthday is, or how far away it is but this sounds interesting and it is always nice for her to hear Vegeta open up. Vegeta however does not seem too keen on spilling the beans on what February 14th is, and the ulterior motives his wife had behind picking that day in particular. Ayeka smiles expectantly at him, liking this cosy and nice conversation. She has got him talking about his wife without clamming up as much as he normally does, and it sounds so nice to her that his wife chose a special day for his birthday.
" The Prince of Saiyan's day of birth is the same as that of a holiday observing romance and love, she was my wife and it entertained her ever so although I believe she also did it so I had no excuse in forgetting that holiday." After a moment of deliberating, Vegeta spills the beans on what his assigned birthday is. It is not a day he would have chosen at all if given the choice however, over the years with his wife he could not truthfully say that it was a bad thing. He never asked for anything for his birthday nor wanted to do anything to celebrate the day yet Bulma always managed to stop his training so she could treat him and he could treat her.
Some slight redness has entered Ayeka's cheeks upon hearing his answer. As well as the changing and falling of the leaves she has found another event on Earth she very much would like to be here for. She perfectly understands the reasoning of Bulma behind doing this and what better way is there to spend the day of romance and relationships than celebrating it on the birthday of the man you love. Her mind drifts thinking on how wonderful it would be for her celebrate both these occasions with him. Not paying much attention one of her legs kicking out to the side bumps against Vegeta's as they swim, she quickly apologises for it.
" What is the calendar structure for an Earth year?" Ayeka tries to get some sense of what a year on this planet is to continue their topic of birthdays and so that the dates will make more relative sense to her. Vegeta explains to her the amount of weeks and months in a year, the names of the months and their respective order and then he takes a while on the differing days in each month and what a leap year is. The idea of a leap year is strange to her but it is not too hard a concept for her to grasp. With this knowledge now she starts trying to place the birthdays she knows of on this Terran calendar. She discusses her conversions and calculations with Vegeta to make sure she isn't making any mistakes and not before long she has found the corresponding day on Earth for her own birthday. The Saiyan comments on the very quick mathematics she just did in her head and she enjoys the compliment and continues working on these conversions for the rest of her family.
"Hmm, yes, I think … I believe Sasami's birthday would be very close to your own, Lord Vegeta. If my mental Math is correct, it lines up to an approximate degree, what a lovely coincidence this is. She'll be pleased to learn of this. And what of your son, Vegeta, when is his birthday?"
" End of April, 29th. I'll use Washu to make a present for him, a new sword I suppose." They did not do much this year when he turned 10, Vegeta made some token effort yet with it being his son's first birthday without his mother it was not much of a happy occasion. Goten helped to alleviate the mood of his son as did Marron, yet they could not fill the emptiness. As a father he knows his own failings towards his son, he can barely play his own role in the family, he cannot make up for Bulma or do the things she did. The failed attempt at a birthday did not last long before Trunks went off somewhere to brood and Vegeta went back to training. Ayeka can see the shadow that has drifted over his face.
"I don't mean to rudely pry this much, but I must know, a-are you enjoying yourself with me, Lord Vegeta?" She cannot tell why his stern expression hardened as it did, she is not the one with the ability to read minds, and so naturally she assumes it to be her fault. Ayeka was trying to get him to talk about the past and got him to casually discuss his deceased wife briefly and so suspects she has upset him by doing so. Not realising that he has already answered this question but to a different woman, Ayeka is hesitant in her asking and waiting for an answer to this loaded question. He has done more for her today than she could have ever imagined and she is well aware of the selfish one sidedness of this, she does not want the happiness of her date to be something only she feels like her affection for him. She wants him to like being with her, she wants it an awful lot, she would be a terrible fiancée if all she did was impose on him and not care for his happiness.
" Apart from the things brought on from my Saiyan nature and blood there are very few things I would say that I enjoy. It would be a lie to say I dislike spending time with you and harsh to say I am merely tolerating this." Vegeta gives her the same answer he separately gave to Ryoko a short while ago. He will not lead her on by giving her the words she wants to hear, to some degree he might like these dates but not to the level she would perceive his words to mean. They swim on for a couple of metres as the princess digests his words. She does not need him to expand on what things he enjoys that are linked to him being a Saiyan.
"What do you enjoy then apart from fighting and training?" Ayeka asks the obvious follow up, she does want to know what this man who keeps all his cards so close to his chest does actually enjoy. They might find a shared interest, although Ayeka is not too fanciful to pin her hopes on that. Maybe if she learns what he likes doing then whenever a day such as this comes around again they can do what he wants. She does not want to be the selfish one being pampered to, she wants a proper relationship of give and take where there is mutual happiness between them.
" Just because training is my life does not mean I find any joy or pleasure in it. I do it because I have to, because I must get stronger, I have to, I will beat Kakarot."
"That does not answer my question."
"A Saiyan is always content when eating."
"You said there are a few things you enjoy that do not stem from your species' nature." She is suspicious now of why he is sidestepping her question so much. It might be impolite to pursue personal information from him like this yet they both agreed to talk together, she likes learning things about him and his uncooperative answers are not helping. Too many times she shies away from him or from other matters, she doesn't want to be the coward so at least in this she will not be the submissive one to change topic. Vegeta exhales at her persistence and keeps silent for nearly half a minute.
"Watching my son grow, raising, teaching, training him, … not so much an activity but being in the company of my wife." He eventually voices the things in which he does find joy, the things he would rather be doing than anything else. They are not Saiyan activities in the slightest. Humble, mediocre, there is no grandness in it, when he first arrived to this planet Goku told him he already had everything he wanted and so would not join him and he found himself wearing those same shoes but a couple of years later. The Juraian princess likes this answer.
"A family man." Ayeka warmly smiles across at him. Those were tender words he said and the kind flame in his heart shone through the icy exterior he tries to keep. It feels good to hear him admit this to her, that at the end of the day Vegeta is like any other husband and father. She does share a common interest with him, for these are things she would very much like to do some day, she wants to have a family in the future. The Saiyan prefers not to be called such a mundane name, his pride over who he is or was grating against something so opposed to the cold and ruthless killer he was.
"A warrior with a cause to fight."
"A prince with a cause that is not himself." She is mindful not to push the issue of his changing identity too much but has fun as he tries to make an excuse for his words. He cannot argue around the fact that he has learnt to care for those that are not himself, he may still be selfish though obviously not that selfish or else she would not currently be on a date with him right now.
" A princess who – be careful of those jellyfish – who … Hmm, Lady Ayeka, I never did get around to fixing your window." Interrupting himself to warn her of the floating jellies she was heading towards without realising the danger, Vegeta remembers something that completely slipped his mind. It will become a problem very soon and so he feels it is more worthy they discuss it than wherever their current conversation was heading.
" That is Ok, it is my fault after-all, you let me stay in your home and I repay you by vandalising your property." Ayeka suddenly becomes more subdued being reminded of that time and how she lashed out in anger, she does not realise the bigger picture that Vegeta is alluding to. She swims out of the jellyfish's path but not enough for Vegeta to deem safe. He had to deal once with Bulma when she got stung and he knows how deceptively long their tendrils can reach in the water and so reaches under Ayeka and lifts her over him by her stomach. Blasting the mindless blobs would cause the fair maiden to be swimming in boiled water and so this way if their tentacles try to sting any flesh it will be his own. Ayeka yelps as she is picked up out of the water by Vegeta and dropped back down again on the other side of him. She was not expecting him to touch her, and due to her outfit he touched her bare skin as well, rosiness blooms on her cheeks. Ayeka takes pleasure in him playing the gallant knight and saving her from harm.
"We both know it was not like that. The fact is that I will be leaving this planet shortly, the barrier I have on your window will disappear with me, do you see the problem now?"
"Oh, Sasami and I … we cannot sleep in a room with no window now can we. But there are no spare rooms left." Ayeka begins thinking now as she catches onto the issue Vegeta is talking about. She destroyed the window, Vegeta is sustaining a barrier over the broken window and if he goes then she and her sister are stuck in a room without a window. As a royal those are completely unsatisfactory living conditions and thinking for her sister she sees few alternatives open to them whilst Vegeta is absent from his home. One thought has occurred to her, that if they need a bed there will be one that is freshly vacant and Ayeka has no issue sharing with Sasami. She cannot possibly ask it.
" Yamcha can fix the window, or Washu, if they do not do it by tonight though then, no, I doubt Ryoko would not seize my bed in my absence so that option is gone and it would be unsuitable for Sasami to sleep in a room with a stench of alcohol." Having had the same thought as Ayeka, Vegeta was considering making the offer of his bed, as he did once before so long ago, but if he is not there to keep her room safe and warm then he is also not there to curb the actions of a certain pirate. With the date with Ryoko going as well as it is he is almost certain that she will see his empty bed and move in without hesitation and there is little he can do about it. His son will not stay awake all night to make sure she does not usurp his room and he fears that if she finds Ayeka in his bed then she might try visiting him to strike up an argument on the matter. That is something he will not risk and so he has already in his mind forfeited his empty bed to the woman he is dancing with in a far off city.
"I will not sleep in Ryoko's bed." Speaking in a firm manner she stubbornly declines the secondary option Vegeta spoke aloud. Sleeping outside under the stars is a more appealing thought to her than voluntarily soiling herself by entering Ryoko's room and spending a night in the same place the rogue does. She need not be driven to such extremes. Ayeka has thought of several other places she and her sister could temporarily reside in for a couple of days. With Washu always being a part of the equation she feels this to be an already solved problem.
" I never said you were, however -"
"Wait, Vegeta, with – with you gone what will happen if ..."
"Trunks has been commanded to step in as your protector from Ryoko until I return. Washu's lab probably has accommodation for you, or you can evict the cops and use theirs." Vegeta reassures her that him leaving will not cause her to become one large and vulnerable target to Ryoko. Even if the remote possibility of his son failing comes to pass then Yamcha should also be about or, more importantly, the threat of Vegeta's return will stop any attacks. Ryoko is not that stupid or desperate to go that far and evoke his wrath. Ayeka seems comfortable with these plans, feeling safe in the hands of his son and at the notion of using Mihoshi and Kiyone's room. Washu's laboratory is a place she thinks neither herself or Sasami would be particularly comfortable in, and with the scientist being a new fiancée she fears that they will be intruding or see something they shouldn't. The two policewomen are here on her behalf and they can be the ones to swap into Ryoko's room instead. Ayeka nods, satisfied at this plan.
The Saiyan scratches at his behind whilst Ayeka asks him about his departure and how long he will be gone. His answers are short and concise. The Juraian understands he cannot cut his leave short by any margin and will not ask anything unreasonable of him as she maintains awareness of their dwindling time left together. Swimming on for another couple of minutes as she chats to Vegeta about his favourite foods and her own. An idea grows in her head that during his absence she could surprise him by getting her sister to teach her to cook one of these dishes for him. He has cooked for her and now she will repay that favour to him and also if she develops this skill then her sister will have a lower workload. All too quickly though they are left with but 10 minutes at the beach and so Ayeka begins heading towards the shoreline so she can dry and change within this time.
Vegeta is a few steps ahead of her as they wade out of the shallows, she spots something out of the corner of her eye and crouches down to pick it up. A gust of hot air wafts past her as Vegeta dries himself off with ki. She holds this item close to her face and smiles. In her dainty hands she holds a small sized conch shell with a pleasant brown and cream pattern running up its spiral spire and small spines. It is a pretty item but unremarkable. Ayeka comments to herself that it would make a fine souvenir for Sasami as she finishes her inspection and carries it onto dry land. Vegeta flexes and stretches his muscles with his now dry hair standing upright in its signature spikes, he has nothing better to do, he scratches at the back of his shorts in between stretches. Having noticed this for a while the princess questions whether there is something irritating him, he goes silent for a few seconds not wanting to say what is irritating him and then waves off the question saying it is sand. Ayeka completely accepts this excuse as the grains of the beach stick to whatever wet part of her feet touch the ground and she sets her shell down on the towels. She goes back towards the water to see if she can find one for herself, towelling herself dry will take a long while with her wet hair but like Vegeta just did ki will make short work of it for her and so she has the spare time for this.
As she searches among the small waves for another sea shell like the other so that she has a matching pair she glances about behind her and sees Vegeta's gaze upon her. She hurries back to searching in and by the water feeling his eyes on her, feeing very exposed in her swimming costume. A shockwave ripples through the sand and causes the ocean to shudder and behind her she hears an aggravated growl. Her wet hair falls loose onto her shoulders and back causing her to anxiously turn around. Vegeta stands there with bloodshot eyes. She asks him why he undid her hair and he does not reply. His eyes are unnerving her, she hasn't seen them like this before and never has his gaze been so intent and fixed upon her body. Like they were hands she can feel them sweeping over her body, she wishes she had changed back into her clothes. She moves her hands to cover herself and takes a step back as she says his name and tells him that he is making her uncomfortable. He closes his eyes and breathes deeply, his eyes open with the same bloodshot as before. Her heavy fringe flops back over her forehead as she stares back at Vegeta with worried wide eyes. His hand goes behind his back and scratches fervently. The same hand then comes back around and slowly begins reaching out towards her. Neutrality and equality come at a cost.
Ayeka yelps as she stumbles over backwards and lands on the wet sand. A sea of amaranthine purple spills out around her as gentle waves lap against one side of her. She makes a nervous mewl as this man stands above her, being too shocked to understand what is going on she questions him as to what his intentions are. Vegeta smirks as he crouches down over her, a hand either side of her head and his knees between her legs. She feels his hot and heavy breath upon her face and whispers his name as her mind is still awhirl at all this happening so sudden and so fast. His right hand moves across to her cheek and she flinches and her eyes close and in that moment he lunges down. Ayeka makes a very startled sound as he begins kissing her, heat flushing her face and her fingers curling. For the second time in her life she is being kissed by a man, the same man, her prince, and although she is startled and nervous her own feelings for him begin to well up inside and take control. Very slight at first she starts trying to kiss him back. For all her reserved nature and trepidation around physical intimacy she cannot prevent her love for Vegeta making her want to act as he kisses her.
All too quickly though she gets thrown even further out of her depth as the kiss evolves and becomes more passionate. Ayeka does not know what is going on or what to do as she suddenly finds herself with their lips locked and his tongue exploring her mouth. Instinctively she recoils at this invasion as a burning fire lights her cheeks a dark crimson. This is all so new to her that when his hand goes to her cheek again she jumps making their teeth clack together. Hesitantly, she makes an effort to try and reciprocate this French kissing, not wanting to disappoint her prince, yet she does not know what to do and is clumsy and awkward in her actions. It feels wrong to her. The whole thing is stirring a dislike in her now, the hunger of his actions pushing her so far past her limits and out of her comfort zone that she wants things to stop. Ayeka finally reopens her eyes, having had them tightly shut the whole time, and seeing the ravenous Saiyan with the blood infused eyes so close above her she connects the dots in her head and knows she really wants this to end right now.
She first goes to turn her head to break off the kiss but the hand on the side of her face prevents her from doing so. Speaking is currently not an option with her mouth full and so she brings her hands to his collar to push him off. As always she cannot move him, her strength is not enough. Fear starts to creep into her as she sees how unable she is to get him to cease. All over she tenses and her legs tuck into her body defensively as best as they can as she strains to push him off her. Ayeka does not like this at all now, it is really frightening her and thus she is trembling all over. Only when she bites down on his tongue does he withdraw back. She quickly goes to cover her face and breasts with her hands and starts adamantly shaking her head. It is all wrong and this feeling of vulnerability and having a man on top of her is making her so terribly scared, she put her trust in him today that she would be safe and he would not let himself fall into lust around her and it appears that that faith was in vain.
"Please. No. … Lord Vegeta, no." Her words come out as quiet whimpers as her whole body shudders in revulsion of having such actions pushed upon her. She feels dirtied and her mouth violated. That was not at all like the first kiss they shared. What is worse though is she knows that initially she was enjoying it, she gave into base impulses just like he did whereas she should have tried to stop him from the get go. She found pleasure in him forcing a kiss on her and that disgusts her.
As she lays there huddled bright sunlight streams into her wide fearful eyes. Vegeta is now stood up with his eyes and mindset having reverted back. Anxiety stops her feeling relieved as she is frightened that a relapse may occur and she will find herself at his mercy again. All that worry is violently banished as the Saiyan prince strikes himself in the face and lets out a frustrated roar. He spits out blood from his mouth and only at that point does Ayeka notice a bitter and metallic taste in her own. She sits up and goes to wipe the taste from her mouth but her hands are covered in sand. Knowing that she just bit Vegeta and she now has his blood in her mouth is making her feel guilty for she can think of but one reason how she managed to do what she did. She cannot hurt him, it is impossible for her to harm him with any attack, and yet she did therefore she assumes that he allowed himself to sustain that injury; he weakened himself in response to her struggles so that she could stop him. Washing her hands in the sea by her side she rids herself of his blood, she looks up to Vegeta who is frowning in disgust at his own actions.
Vegeta formally apologises to her for what he did and says that their date has ended and he has to leave. She doesn't speak and just nods. He walks back over to their towels and belongings whilst she continues to sit were she is, still dealing with what happened to her. As he packs up their stuff and heads back over to the princess sat in the surf with her hair flowing around her she quietly thanks him for this date. Vegeta tosses the sea shell she found over to her, Ayeka catches it and weakly smiles, as he throws a second similar shell over to her though her smile strengthens. He holds his hand out down to her and she slowly takes it.
Grass replaces sand and the Sun lowers itself in the sky as Ayeka finds herself back at the familiar lakeside near Vegeta's house with one other person keeping her company. She hears a sigh from the side of her and turns to see Ryoko stood there in her black dress but what Ayeka's eyes take most notice of are the smudges to her lipstick. Ryoko looks down at the princess in her swimsuit and thinks to herself that it does make sense Vegeta would take her to a beach on a date and so does not mind her manner of dress, she finds the defensive posture of her rival all the more telling and intriguing.
"So, I guess he went a bit wild on both of us then, cheeky two timer. How far?" Ryoko walks over and stands in front of Ayeka with her hands on her hips looking down on this sandy and wet maiden looking oh-so vulnerable and weak. Ayeka's eyes fall to her lap. It has just struck her now that whilst Vegeta was kissing her there was another woman he was with at the same time. She feels dirtied and that fact hurts. Neither of them like that thought in the slightest yet Ryoko feels safe that Ayeka would have a lot more reservations and so would not have received the same level of affection as she has. The troubling clue of the sand on her limbs and in her hair is poking holes in Ryoko's belief, Ayeka had to have been pushed down to the floor and right after that would have followed quite an intimate moment.
"I asked how far, princess. I'll tell if you'll tell. What did Vegey do?" Impatient at Ayeka's despondent silence, she asks again. It will put her mind to rest and she knows that Ayeka is worrying and thinking the exact same thing. They both have a need to know what Vegeta did with the other and Ryoko is in a good enough mood to try and co-operate. Her golden eyes dart about for clues, not caring for the two sea shells in Ayeka's hands but searching the swimsuit for any signs that Vegeta tried what he tried with her. Nothing seems out of place but she still can't rule out that she fixed her outfit afterwards like she did after Vegeta kept sliding down her dress' strap. A tentative and pale hand goes up to Ayeka's face and lightly touches at her mouth, her mind deep in thought processing all that has happened and her emotions on it. "He's a good kisser ain't he."
Ryoko catches onto the meaning behind her subconscious actions, she would grin but given these matters she would rather not. Ayeka's hand darts back down from her face but the damage has already been done. With red cheeks she thinks on how abhorrent it is to hear another woman say that compliment and her words to not be false boasts. Her red eyes jump to Ryoko as she sits herself down in front of Ayeka, the sleek and slim black dress fully exposing one of her legs. She sees that she will not be rid of this pirate so easily or by ignoring her and despite how loath she is to discuss this whole thing it will just eat her up from the inside if she doesn't. Looking over to her side she sees the bag with her clothes in but before she can do anything Ryoko snatches it close to her so that there will be no delay.
" … Weird … Different …" These are the only words Ayeka partially manages to mumble out. Discussing how a kiss was stolen from her is taking a lot of effort and she feels the shame whittling down her will with each syllable. The seemingly in control and confident demeanour of Ryoko is just adding to her woes. She is a complete mess after Vegeta's episode and knowing that it happened for the alternate multiform, and with her rival's willingness towards such acts, is just making her dread what her fiancée did and what Ryoko let him do to her. Ayeka begins messing with the shells in her hands and she feels her heart drop as Ryoko smirks at her description.
" You mean he kissed with tongues? That's – oh you didn't know that was a thing did you? Now that is funny, ha. I'd kinda like it more if – wait. Dammit! You got to taste my Vegey. Tell me, now." From being amused at the ignorance and greenness of the maiden to being sourly envious, Ryoko leans in forward cursing her lack of taste. It had never crossed her mind that what she enjoyed was missing a dimension to what her rival was getting and it makes her mad that Ayeka got to have Vegeta in a way she never can. Ryoko's abrupt pushiness has frightened the already timid and scared Juraian. Ayeka leans away and before she knows it her mouth has started to run, with so many emotions running at a high a crack has broken in her shattering composure and the spilling out begins.
" I-I didn't. It was, it- I – it was an accident, I didn't intend to hurt him. So bitter, horrible."
" The hell are you talking about? How did you hurt him? " Ryoko has no clue what she has started stammering and babbling about. Her accidentally hurting Vegeta makes no sense even if she can guess why it came about. She asked her for his taste whilst she was being kissed and now she says that she hurt him, due to resisting him, and that there was a bitter taste. Though Ryoko cannot relate to what bitter is she understands that somehow from injuring Vegeta something got into Ayeka's mouth and with the context of kissing she narrows down the choice until she lands at something that strikes her as hilarious. If only this gem did not stem from the mans she loves kissing another then she would be truly ecstatic but she'll make the best of this all the same. She'll take this as just desserts for Vegeta sticking his tongue in Ayeka's mouth. "… No. No, you didn't ...Princess has some bite to her, wow. You bit Vegeta to stop him kissing you. Ok then, so the answer is you tasted blood but, second question, what else happened on copycat's date, huh?"
The princess shrinks in on herself and hides her face in her elbows, she did not mean to say that and she certainly does not want to be jeered at for such an obscene act. Ryoko gives her time to herself. She will not open up to her unless she wants to and pushing her will just make her retreat further into her shell and, truth be told, Ryoko has some thoughts she wants to have some time to sort out. Lounging back and gazing up at the evening sky, she stretches a hand to the heavens and grasps at it, hoping she can pull her dancing partner back home where he belongs. Jealousy at Ayeka, despondency at being left, happy over the steps she feels she made towards Vegeta, Ryoko isn't one who normally has to deal with so things but she manages the brave face before her rival. After a few minutes of internalising all this, Ryoko sits up again and sees Ayeka peeking out at her from behind her arms. The reason Ryoko brought an end to Vegeta's fun was his over aggressiveness, looking across to this maiden so terrified of any sexual interaction it is plainly clear that she did not get pushed around as much or as eagerly pursued. The pirate doesn't know whether that is a good or bad thing, it could swing either way but her mind is starting to ponder why there would still be a difference in the treatment between them even when Vegeta's mind succumbs to his wild side.
"Why should I tell you?" This argumentative rebuttal comes far, far too late to be of any true purpose but to reignite their conversation, putting a mask over the true meaning she wishes to convey. Now with some time at least having passed since her date came to an end, Ayeka is feeling a bit better, trying to see the silver lining in this and not focus on the shame. She finds it ironic how at the beach she tried to get the Saiyan prince to open up and talk about his wife to help him and now she is on the receiving end of much the same from Ryoko of all people. Truth be told they have no-one else they can talk about this to, they hate each other and strive to destroy the other's dreams yet in this they cannot simply let their grudge overpower their intrinsic desire to know about Vegeta and what he did with the other woman. Ryoko grins at Ayeka, now they can get down to it.
" We both wanna know how the other date went and I think Vegeta planned something so I can't beat the information out of you. Sharing is caring and anyway I'll find out after I read your diary so there ain't no point keeping secrets now. Let's see who won this round, biter."
"After you, age before beauty as they say."
Dropping back into a more natural form of combative conversation, both women find some minor comfort in this normal way of acting as they take turns trading snippets and details about their dates. Omitting parts they would rather not be known, the primate house for Ayeka and the drunken men for Ryoko, their one-upmanship over the other aids Ayeka in speaking more freely about her day out. A few threats and insults are dished out in response to learning of romantics events that occurred to their nemesis. After a good several minutes of this psuedo-hostile exchange both women sit there feeling both ambivalently relieved and bitter. Ayeka takes comfort in knowing that Vegeta's lust filled acts to Ryoko did not go much beyond what she herself received, whilst Ryoko still thinks on why he was not as 'Saiyan' towards Ayeka. The dolled up pirate lets her ego take the forefront of that reason, that his attraction towards her was all the more greater thus the stronger response. However, if that level of difference is between how he views them then that conflicts with him calling them equals and as far as she knows there is no reason for him to be lying to her about that.
In the end neither of the two radically different women would trade their date for what the other received. Each believe that theirs was the best, and in no small part because of how Vegeta tailored it that way. Their animosity is always there, yet with Vegeta having left now and such a busy day neither of them feel the urge or want to start too large of a scene, and no matter what they do they no violence or harsh words will alter the envy they feel. During this talk they both learned important things, of what Vegeta told them during their conversations with him. Ryoko is all too keen to rub in Ayeka's face Vegeta's words of not caring at all about her past with other men and how she got the stoic Saiyan to smile during their dancing. The princess has little comeback to this but tells Ryoko how she got Vegeta talking about his wife around her, this retort proves more effective than she expected.
Ayeka brings an end to their talk, having exhausted her curiosity and all she is willing to divulge, and stands up announcing that they are done here and she is going to take a bath. Ryoko throws her the bag containing her clothes and grins saying that Vegeta was right and she is going to be sleeping in his bed tonight. The Juraian catches the bag and just replies with the single word 'alone' as she walks back into the house to wash off the sand and salt of the coast. Shrugging to herself, Ryoko lays back down on the grass. Today was fun and she knows it will be so much more enjoyable if the next time she doesn't have to think about him being with Ayeka. She teleports upstairs and into the vacant warrior's room and lays down on it, flicking her shoes off and resting. It is far too early for a night owl such as herself to think about going to sleep but a nap in Vegeta's scent sounds a good idea to her whilst she waits for Ayeka to finish in the bathroom so that she can wipe the make-up from her face. At one point she senses Trunks' presence, obviously not liking her being in his father's bed but before she can react to it he goes again. It then very quickly falls from her mind.
The remainder of the day passes by quickly. Vegeta's absence is not too noticeable thanks to how he is normally shut in training all the time anyway. During her long soak in the bath, Ayeka is joined by Sasami wanting to see and talk to her sister. The two have fun talking about their respective days, or as much as Ayeka will say, and Sasami gets jealous at not being taken to the beach which sounds like a lot of fun for her. At this point, the elder sister gives the girl her souvenir of the sea shell whilst showing her own and the kind freckled Juraian lovingly thanks her sibling for this and smiles all the more when Ayeka reveals to her what she learnt about her birthday and how it is more or less the same as Vegeta's and a holiday of love. Later that night they settle themselves down in futons, not having seen or heard from either Washu or Yamcha Ayeka did not have a chance to request her window to be fixed. Ryoko is snuggled down under the sheets Vegeta uses and sips some sake as she pleases herself repeating the Saiyan's words of more and better dates to herself. One woman though is not that pleased with the situation she is in.
"Mihoshi, please, you move one more time and I am going to send you to the couch downstairs." Kiyone and Mihoshi, both having voluntarily yielded their room given the royal's circumstances, now lay tops and tails in Ryoko's bed. There is not much room in this bed for the both of them to sleep separately and though Mihoshi sees nothing wrong with this Kiyone is a bit uncomfortable sharing a bed with her partner. With bronzed feet sticking out beside her pillow, she has already suffered one kick this night and Mihoshi's fidgeting is annoying her. Twice before they slept in the same bed back in the academy, the first time due to Mihoshi getting homesick and lonely within the first week and the second after Kiyone broke up with the fellow academy student she was seeing at the time.
"Wha ? Sorry, Kiyone. … I'm trying but if I'm asleep there isn't much I can do about it." A drowsy Mihoshi mumbles and as soon as she finishes her sentence drifts back off again. Kiyone sighs to herself and rolls over facing away from her partner, stubbornly shutting her eyes and hoping that she'll be able to get some semblance of a good night's sleep before she has to warn Mihoshi again. She might act the klutz but Kiyone knows her friend well enough that she is confidently calling her bluff and knows that she won't kick her out of this bed.